Pan is the granddaughter of Son Goku, the famous hero of the Dragon Ball saga. The author Akira Toriyama made her appear for the first time when she was 5 years old before creating a whole past for her within the series. Dragon Ball Super. From his place in Toriyama’s work to his appearances in the Expanded Universe, here are 9 facts you might not know about Pan.
#9 Pan almost called himself something else
One of the recurring jokes of Dragon Ball is that many of the characters have names derived from different groups of objects or food groups. For example, and as we explained in detail here, Bulma’s entire family has first names related to underwear. In Goku’s family, it’s a little more random. However, and even if we know little about it, Gohan means rice cooked in water Japanese, it also means “meal” in Japanese. As such, it is the equivalent of bread for Westerners. It is with the idea of keeping this food group for Gohan that Toriyama decided to name his daughter Pan, which simply means: bread. But it almost turned out differently.
During the film Battle of Gods, the God of Destruction, Beerus, is determined to fight the legendary “Super Saiyan God”. For Son Goku to reach this state/transformation, he must gather the energy of 5 Saiyans. Unfortunately, there are only 4 of them who can help him (Vegeta, Trunks, Gohan and Goten). That’s when Videl reveals she is expecting Gohan’s child who will therefore be a Saiyan who can join the process. At this news, and for a moment, everyone forgets the Beerus problem. Everyone then celebrates the happy event, and Chi-chi even suggests naming the baby “Gomen”, and the idea does not seem to displease the future parent.
#8 The name Pan allows you to fully express your family heritage
We have just seen that the name Pan pays homage to the name of his father, Gohan. However, Akira Toriyama also chose this name by allowing the character to pay homage to his maternal family. Indeed, if in France we know Pan’s maternal grandfather under the name of Hercules; in original version this character is actually called Monsieur Satan. To keep its noun group system, Toriyama called Mr. Satan’s daughter: Videl. Videl is an anagram of the English word devil, which means “devil”. However, in reality, even if Pan means “bread”, this name also allows the character to be fully part of this diabolical lexicon.
Indeed, Pan is also the name of a Greek deity who was later associated with the Devil by early Christians due to his goat-like legs, horns and tendency to lead a life of lust. Thus, the name Pan continues the traditions of his mother and grandfather. Finally, we can also specify that according to one theory, this name would have been perfect in Gohan’s eyes, since it made it possible to satisfy both sides of the family, but also to pay homage to his spiritual father, Piccolo, by making reference to the panpipes, which is an instrument just like the Piccolo.
#7 Pan never transformed into a Super Saiyan for some strange reason
After the story arc dedicated to Cell, just about everyone, and anyone, is transformed all the time and in every way. Thus, in the arc dedicated to Boo, which has long served as the official conclusion to the saga, we discovered: 2 new super warriors (Trunks and Goten), 2 new transformations (Goku Super Saiyan 3 and Ultimate Gohan), but also two types of fusions which themselves allowed the appearance of two new warriors (Gotenks and Vegeto). In fact, when the character of young Pan appears at the end of the saga and shows up at the martial arts tournament, we immediately expect to see her transform into a super warrior, except… No.
Surprisingly, so far (June 2024) we have never seen Pan transform into a super warrior. The reason for this astonishing fact is as simple as it is disconcerting: Akira Toriyama can’t draw super warrior women. Obviously, this great master of manga knows his limits and he recognized that he was unable to design super warriors with satisfactory character design. However, this problem which was specific to Toriyama does not apply to his successor Toyotaro. Indeedsince Toriyama left the drawing to Toyotaro, two super warriors have now appeared in the saga: Caulifla and Kale. So it is now entirely possible that Pan will eventually be able to transform. Moreover, since Dragon Ball Super, the implementation of its powers has greatly accelerated.
#6 Pan achieved certain powers before all other Saiyans
Saiyan descendants resulting from a population mix are born without the famous monkey tail worn by those whose two parents come only from the planet Vegeta. Unable to transform into a Giant Gorilla/Ozaru, thetheir power is paradoxically increased tenfold from their youngest age. Thus, Son Goten and Trunks were the two youngest Saiyans to have reached the Super Warrior stage. With this in mind, while Pan is still a few months old, she is already showing quite impressive power. Indeed, after being confronted in spite of herself by Pilaf, Pan gets out of her troubles on her own by flying away, leaving the earth’s atmosphere and revealing a significant aura of energy visible to the naked eye, as only the best warriors are capable of doing.
So far, Pan is the youngest female character in the history of Dragon Ball to have achieved flight capability. However, she shares this characteristic with the son of Senbei Norimaki (Dr. Slump): Turbo Norimaki. In the Toriyama universe, the adventures of Goku and Doctor Slump coexist within the same world. In fact, Turbo is the youngest male character capable of flying at an early age in this common lore. However, Pan, by producing her energy aura, is still presented as a more powerful character than Turbowhich uses a simple form of levitation.
#5 Pan appeared in Doctor Slump
As Dragon Ball, Dr. Slump was entitled to a sequel: Doctor Slump Returns. The original author, Akira Toriyama, was not involved in the creative process, but the work is intended as a gigantic tribute to his work. So, we meet many characters who have marked the author’s career like Ackman of Go! Go! Ackmanas well as some references to video games, notably to the series Dragon Quest for which Toriyama was character designer. In this story, the Doctor’s son, Turbo Norimaki, is now a child and thus meets the versions Dragon Ball GT of Trunks and Pan.
#4 Pan had to relearn how to fly
The episode featuring Pan confronting Pilaf and his team when she was still an infant was just a filler. Therefore, from a strictly canonical point of view, the character did not yet really know how to fly. It’s finally during the arc Superhero that Pan actually begins his training alongside Piccolo. After numerous adventures, which pitted part of the Z warriors against a new comeback of the Red Ribbon army, Pan rediscovers his ability to fly. Noting the rapid progress of her young student (she is only 3 years old), Piccolo implies this is just the beginning and that he will ensure that Pan can soon fully develop his full potential.
#3 Toriyama revealed Pan’s hidden potential
Although he humbly admitted to not knowing how to draw a super warrior, Toriyama did not devalue his young heroine. So, during an interview, the author of Dragon Ball clarified that Pan not only had the potential to transform into a Super Saiyan, but also a giant ape, although this never happened. Of course, as we pointed out above, Pan doesn’t have a monkey tail, which is essential for the transformation. However, series Dragon Ball GT proved to us that it was entirely possible to bring back the giant apes/Oozaru even without an apelike appendage. So it’s easy to imagine Pan achieving this in the same way Vegeta did with the ray system created by Bulma.
#2 Pan thinks the spotlight on his grandfather is a problem
The extended universe of Dragon Ball placed Pan faced with the delicate problem of assuming his affiliation with Mr. Satan/Hercules. If her grandfather is delighted to be a huge star and never misses an opportunity to be on television, Pan is his perfect opposite. For example, in Dragon Ball GT, Pan dropped out of several world tournaments due to the public image problems she faced due to her relationship to Hercules/Satan. In Dragon Ball OnlinePan even wears a Saiyaman costume to hide his identity and act without the disadvantages of his family status. But it will go even further.
After yet another twist in the plot of Dragon Ball Online, she even ends up proving that the martial education provided in her grandfather’s schools is of no interest. After having discredited her grandfather Hercules, she finally chooses to embrace her fame and decides, at only 15 years old, to become a model who will provide the world with true martial teaching. She then founded her own school, the Pan Fighting Network. Through courses accessible simultaneously throughout the world, she herself provides her own advice and thus hopes to train enough good warriors capable of defending the Earth in the event of new major threats.
#1 Pan is fascinated by the fusion system
As this article is written (June 2024), it is especially through the extended universe that the character of Pan was able to shine. For example, she is one of the major heroines of Dragon Ball GT where she is presented as a powerful warrior capable of defeating enemies although announced as stronger than Majin Boolike General Rilldo. But beyond its power, which will always be subject to debate anyway; certain traits of his personality were also discussed. She is thus often described as particularly curious about different techniques and forms of fusion.
So, in the episodes of the game Xenoverse, she is regularly interested in this process and even suggests the idea of merging with the Warrior of the Future (the main protagonist of the game) without ever daring to take the plunge. It’s finally in the game Dragon Ball Fusion that she will end up using the EX bracelets invented by Bulma (and which allow a simplified fusion of all the characters) that it will finally launch. We thus know two important fusions of Pan : his fusion with Vegeta’s daughter, Bra, who will give the character of Brapan; but also Pandel, who is the fusion between Pan and his mother Videl.
If you liked this article you can now find “8 facts you didn’t know about”: Yamcha, C-17, C-18, C-16, Broly-1 and 2, Beerus, Shenron, Bulma, Trunks, Future Trunks, Son Goten, FriezaCooler, King Cold, The Ginyu Commando, Janemba, Krillin, VegetaKing Vegeta, Raditz, Piccolo, Oob, Kamé Sennin/Great Turtle, Hercules, Cell, Dabra, Garlic Junior or kid Buu.
